Wisconsin artist fights retail giant over Halloween design — claims TJ Maxx, Marshalls, HomeSense stole her vision

Independent artists often pour countless hours — and pieces of themselves — into their work.

Crystal Cox, owner of Spookshow Babe Design in New Berlin, Wisconsin, is one of them. Her studio is where she sketches, refines and builds the designs that support her business.

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In 2023, Cox posted a print she called Spooky Scoops to her Instagram. But two years later, she started receiving messages from friends and customers who said they’d spotted three-dimensional versions of her design for sale at TJ Maxx, Marshalls and Homesense — all owned by TJX Companies.

"Everything that I make and create, I'm putting a piece of myself into that, that's my idea, that's my vision. It's how I see the world," Cox told WTMJ-TV Milwaukee (1). "So, when you have someone just kind of trample over it like that. It hurts. It genuinely hurts. It just kinda makes me feel small."

Stories like Cox’s aren’t rare. Small artists often find their work echoed on the shelves of major retailers. Beyond the frustration, he case highlights a bigger concern for anyone making a living from their art: what protections are in place, and what can independent creators do to safeguard thei/r work before it’s copied?

Small artists, big retailers

For Cox, the timing made the situation even harder to process. She was already coping with her father’s battle with cancer, and he had always encouraged her to protect her work and take herself seriously as an artist. When she recognized her design on store shelves, she decided to act.

She reached out to Justice for Artists, a zero-cost litigation group that pairs creators with attorneys for copyright disputes. Its founder, Daniel Lachman, says cases like Cox’s surface far more often than people realize.

This isn’t the first time a small artist has faced off against a big company. In 2013, Oakland illustrator Lisa Congdon said wholesaler Cody Foster & Co. reproduced her artwork on holiday ornaments without permission. The controversy prompted retailers, including West Elm, Anthropologie and Fab to pull the products and cut ties with the company.

At the time, Cody Foster released a statement to The Los Angeles Times that read, in part (2):

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“Our explanation for how this happened is simple, though not excusable. Unfortunately, it occurs regularly in this industry. Documenting ‘artistic inspiration’ for reproduced craft products — particularly for those based on folk designs -- is a difficult process and presents a huge challenge for suppliers, artists and retailers alike.”

No lawsuit was publicly filed, but the company’s retail relationships took a hit. Congdon said the resolution allowed her to move on, though no settlement terms were disclosed.

In Cox’s case, she automatically owned the copyright to Spooky Scoops the moment she created it. But she didn’t file a formal copyright registration with the U.S. Copyright Office until this year — after she discovered the lookalike products.

"In Crystal's case, she copyrighted her art after the infringement took place. So she's going to only be entitled to total profits that were garnered during the sale," Lachman said.

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Protecting your work

Under U.S. copyright law, artists automatically own the rights to their original work as soon as it’s created (3). But formal registration with the U.S. Copyright Office allows them to file a lawsuit in federal court and to seek statutory damages, attorney’s fees and, in some cases, compensation beyond the profits made from the copied product. Registration typically costs $45 to $65 (4).

TJX Companies, the parent of TJ Maxx, Marshalls and Homesense, told WTMJ that it has been in contact with Cox’s attorney and declined to comment further while discussions continue. According to the plaintiff’s attorney, the parties are still negotiating and no lawsuit has been filed. Intellectual property disputes involving national retailers can take months — or even years — to resolve, and outcomes often depend on whether both sides choose to litigate or reach a private settlement.

For independent artists, documentation can be a critical safeguard. Intellectual property attorneys recommend keeping detailed records of a work’s development, including dated sketch files, drafts, upload logs and sales records. These materials can help establish authorship and timeline if a dispute arises. Maintaining this paper trail is often just as important as the art itself when it comes to defending ownership.

Another smart move is to keep an eye on where your work appears online. Reverse image search tools like Google Images and TinEye can help detect unauthorized reproductions early. Online marketplaces like Etsy, Shopify and Redbubble have established takedown procedures for copyrighted works.

Cox said she hopes her experience will encourage other artists to take preventative steps.

"I want artists to understand that this is something that could happen to them,” she said. “I want them to know how to protect their art. I want these companies to be held accountable."

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TMJ 4 (1); Los Angeles Times (2); Copyright (3, 4).

This article originally appeared on Moneywise.com under the title: Wisconsin artist fights retail giant over Halloween design — claims TJ Maxx, Marshalls, HomeSense stole her vision

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